Talented carvers of Marovo Lagoon, Solomon Islands

15 – 17 July 2010

Chea Village, Marovo Island

After strong winds and rain throughout our stay in Tetepare, we were dreading the island crossing from Tetepare to Marovo Lagoon, New Georgia. We were bracing ourselves for big waves and made sure all our belongings were packed water tight and safely under the tarp. I woke up in the middle of our last night in Tetepare and immediately noticed something – no wind! Went back to bed thinking, maybe, just maybe the seas will be flat. I told Tingo and Yogi we’ll have flat calm seas and they both said we were still sheltered in the lee side of Tetepare island. We could see different patches of dark clouds here and there, but by the time we reached open seas, it was glass flat!!! It was totally unreal. There was rain, of course, but we had a smooth ride all the way to Marovo Lagoon.

Marovo lagoon – calm seas but pouring rain

We went all the way to Chea Village in Marovo Island and stayed in the community’s only Guest House. Again it was self serve and very basic and absolutely remote, but it had internet!!!

The community computer, a solar powered subnotebook Eee PC, had a regal position on the kitchen table. There were instructions and computer lessons in the community whiteboard! WWF SI staff Tingo & Bill used it first and I asked them if there was internet and their answer was YES! We had been cyber deprived for more than a week now and it was good to just quickly check emails. Since we had rains all week long, the computer’s solar powered battery had troubles keeping up with all of our hungry needs. Oh well.

With the computer beeping to say it was low on battery, we all quickly checked emails and logged out

We photographed village life in our stay in Chea. We reached the Community Hall where the traditional carvers brought out their beautiful wares to display and our eyes popped out. They were so beautiful! A very eloquent English speaking carver named Huimes Namusu listened to us give instructions. Once he knew what we wanted, he relayed our instructions to all the carvers in the room.

Upon seeing these works of art, we immediately set up our studio bringing out our black cloth as a background

There are six types of wood used by carvers from Marovo Lagoon: the most expensive is the king ebony, a rare black hardwood; queen ebony, less rare but still expensive black and brown streaked wood; kou or kerosene wood which ranges from light brown to rich dark brown depending on which section of the tree is used – pale sapwood or dark heartwood; rosewood, an abundant pinkish wood; abundant coconut tree wood and finally yellowish wood from a jackfruit tree.

Another traditional warrior carved out of king ebony with nautilus shell inlay carved by Huimes Namusu

Portrait of the artist Huimes Namusu

We asked Huimes if we could photograph them carving and he volunteered himself as our able model. He made a bowl out of piece of coconut tree trunk and after less than an hour, he carved out the structure of a bowl. It was quite amazing so see skill and precision work this ancient art of carving.

In a day Huimes can finish a bowl complete with shell inlay and sanding

We particularly wanted to see how the shell inlay was done. Huimes said they had to buy expensive nautilus shell for this and once he worked the material, I understood why nautilus was their preferred shell to use. The thinness of this ancient mollusk is even all throughout and it was easy to handle and work with.

Huimes carves out a groove from the rim of this coconut bowl to make space for the nautilus inlay

With the assistance of the sole of his foot, Huimes uses a little saw to cut out the piece of nautilus he needs for the inlay

He uses a thin file to shape the nautilus shell into the design he wants and glues the piece into the groove of the coconut bowl

Huimes Namusu learned carving from his father at the age of nine. He carves for a living and earnings from his craft feeds his wife and four children. Like majority of the people in Chea and the Marovo area, he is Seventh Day Adventist. His weekdays are busy with either carving or selling his craft once a week in the nearby Uepi Resort. He and his wife tends to their gardens on Thursdays and he goes fishing on Fridays so there is food prepared for Saturday which is Sabbath. Sabbath is observed from Friday sunset to Saturday sunset. During this time, Adventists avoid secular work and all business related activities.

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Stella was born in Manila, Philippines in 1965. She studied anthropology but ended up in advertising, producing radio and TV commercials for 7 years. After quitting advertising, she ventured into the freelance world in Manila producing video documentaries for a publishing house, government agencies, non govenmental organisations, and the academe. She moved on to producing books and had a stint at working with foreign production companies visiting Manila. Stella, now based in Cairns, produces photo stories with her husband Jürgen Freund.

Testimonials

“I took Yogi’s photo class with a bunch of friends and family of various different skill levels. Yogi has a lovely, gentle approach to teaching with no ego or B.S. Everyone in the course got something awesome out of it and it was a heap of fun playing with all his toys and gadgets. He was great at explaining complex stuff and made sure no one got left behind.”

Dave Mainwaring – Port Douglas, QLD

“What an incredible workshop! I learned so much about wildlife, camera equipment, techniques and postproduction. Yogi is a fantastic teacher and a remarkable human being. His soft spoken but expert coaching improved my photography immensely and this course was as inspirational as it was informative. I will forever have the memories and skills (and let’s not forget photos!) that I picked up during this workshop. Thanks so much for a truly amazing experience.”

Jenna Rumney – Port Douglas, QLD

“I was inspired to take pictures and to improve my eye for capturing a special moment in nature… The course is so well planned to provide opportunities for that special picture in that special place, and each day we were challenged to apply new techniques to get the shot. Unforgettable and such solid step in my learning experience.”

Chico Birrell – Brisbane, QLD

“It was exciting, refreshing, educational, inspiring and quite entertaining. Juergen’s extraordinary experience made the long days, not long enough for everyone. I have been a photographer for years at a professional level. And as an amateur, I highly recommend this Masterclass.”

Jorge Martins – Cairns, QLD

“Juergen Freund is a master at his craft and he tailored his response carefully to each of the participant’s personal skills. He never became impatient even with questions that to him must have appeared inane. I personally benefited greatly from his instruction. I would also like to emphasise that Stella was also a pillar of strength and she contributed greatly to the overall success of the program.”

Robert Prettejohn – Cairns, QLD

“This masterclass was absolutely brilliant and it was obvious that a great deal of planning and preparation had been done prior to the course, making it run extremely smoothly. The locations were amazing with great opportunities for photographing a huge range of wildlife. The skills I developed over the duration of this course have improved my photography immensely. Yogi and Stella are warm friendly people with great patience and knowledge. I thoroughly enjoyed this course and was sorry when i…

Stacey Clark – Bendigo, VIC

“An enjoyable and entertaining fun-course of expertly organised subjects and venues, inspired by Yogi’s enthusiasm and generous sharing of his photographic knowledge and experiences. Thanks Yogi, Stella and Tai.”

Annette Corsi – Innisfail, QLD

“This was far and away the best in-the-field photo course I’ve done: dedicated, well prepared instructors and organisers with a great sense of humour whose approach showed real interest in us as individuals, and the group responded accordingly. I’d have no hesitation in recommending others to participate.”

Carol Hall – Ballarat, VIC

“The method was Rogerian with a lot of personal responsibility for learning and largely apprentice mode of instruction. This method suits me. It’s the first face-to-face course I have done and Yogi was a true gentleman. I would do further courses without hesitation as it was an outstanding learning experience.”

Dennis Tannenbaum – Perth, WA

“I had the best time and learnt so much from both Jürgen and Stella… and the others! And visited a beautiful part of the world I had never been too… what a bonus! Thank you! This will go down in my memories as one of my best holidays EVER!!!”